“Another challenge for the police is that some community members aid the illegal miners. In September 2024, police arrested a 65-year-old homeowner and a 31-year-old accomplice. The homeowner allowed the illegal miners to gain entry to the Khuseleka mine shaft in Rustenburg by digging a hole from the home in Nkandla informal settlement,” she said.
Recently, the Free State Vala Umgodi team arrested a contract worker after finding that he had sellotaped food on his body and covered it with clothes to take it underground undetected to sell to illegal miners. Another one was found with bottles of cough mixture.
The same team had a few months ago arrested another man who had a small packet of peanut butter with a R2,000 price tag as part of the food he was going to sell underground.
According to a police officer based in Gauteng, selling food for illegal miners is a lucrative business for many people hence they hike the prices but is not an easy one.
The officer, who asked to remain anonymous as he is not allowed to speak to the media, said even getting to where the illegal miners are operating is not easy as the “hawkers” have to pay a “security guard” at the entrance of the shaft to be able to go down and sell their wares.
Another thing, he said, there is a lot of travel involved.
“For example, the illegal miners may be in Krugersdorp and the entry point is at Golf Reef City so they have to walk a long distance with the food they’re selling as well as cigarettes and batteries as those are also needed for light.
“It‘s entirely another community down there,” he said.
Mathe said factors such as poverty, unemployment and porous borders were driving forces for illegal mining in the country.
“Majority of the arrested suspects are foreign nationals from various countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Ethiopia. The SAPS is tightening its grip on all its borderlines and members remain on the ground to prevent and combat illegal mining activities,” she said.
SowetanLIVE
Botho Molosankwe
www.sowetanlive.co.za
